Plastic cards are well known in the art and are commonly used in a wide variety of different applications. Most notably, plastic cards are constructed for use as, inter alia, commercial transaction cards (e.g. bank cards, credit cards, gift cards, membership cards, loyalty cards, phone cards and the like), identification cards (e.g. driver's licenses, resident cards and the like) and access cards (e.g. key cards, transportation cards and the like).
Plastic cards of the type as described above are traditionally mass-produced by laminating together multiple, enlarged, sheets of durable plastic material, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polycarbonate. In a subsequent manufacturing step, a plurality of individual cards (typically 24-96 cards) are then punched, cut out or otherwise separated from the multi-layered sheet, or stack, with each resultant card produced in a size and shape in compliance with industry standards. Often, as part of a final personalization step, each card is laser marked or printed using thermal inks with certain unique indicia, such as a name, photograph and/or identification number.
It has been found that unscrupulous individuals routinely attempt to produce counterfeit cards in order to engage in illicit activities including, among other things, identity or property theft. Accordingly, plastic cards are commonly designed with different types of security features to preclude unscrupulous individuals from accurately replicating authentic plastic cards.
One type of security feature commonly incorporated into plastic cards is a transparent window feature. A window feature is created by integrating a clear insert directly into one layer of the card body. The incorporation of a transparent window into the card body serves as a direct countermeasure against the fabrication of counterfeit cards though image scanning, as a clear window is difficult to reproduce using traditional light-based image reproduction techniques.
To manufacture a plastic card with a window feature, a clear insert is typically fittingly disposed within a transverse bore formed in at least one core layer prior to the lamination process. The core plastic layer is then sandwiched between one or more transparent plastic layers to form the card body. Accordingly, upon lamination, the clear insert creates a small, fully transparent window within a designated location in the card. During the card personalization process, a unique marking (e.g. a reduce-sized image, emblem or signature) is then often laser engraved onto the outer surface of the card in alignment with the clear insert to render the window feature even more difficult to replicate by unscrupulous individuals.
As can be appreciated, a window feature is an overt security feature, meaning that the insert and any unique marking printed thereon can be instantly verified by the naked eye (i.e. without the need of any specialized equipment). In the art, overt security features of this type are identified as surface, or level 1, security features, which are the lowest level of security coverage used to protect card authenticity (e.g. to protect identity information).
Although window features of the type described above are commonly used in the art, an influx in unscrupulous behavior in the field, including identity theft, has necessitated that greater levels of security features be incorporated into plastic cards. In particular, it has been found that there is a distinct need for plastic cards that include either embedded, or level 2, security features (e.g. biometric data that is only retrievable using specialized equipment) and/or forensic, or level 3, security features (e.g. data not directly retrievable from the card without the use of authorized forensic tools).